Zhongyao Herbal Processing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Around 1912, Huicheng in the north of Xinhui District had 30 merchants specializing in making and selling chenpi (aged tangerine peel), most of them having inherited the trade for several generations; by 1980, it was uniformly carried on by the Xinhui District supply and marketing cooperative and medicinal materials companies.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The main area of distribution of the Xinhui Chenpi Processing Craft project is Xinhui District, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province. Its water and soil structure, combining sedimentary and alluvial soils, together with its humid-basin climate and landforms, makes the peel of Xinhui mandarin oranges relatively thick; during processing the peel undergoes 'humid aging,' and the resulting chenpi is of especially outstanding quality. Time-honored brands such as Beijing Tongrentang and Guangdong Chenliji have used it as a raw material to produce more than 50 varieties of prepared Chinese medicines. The Xinhui Chenpi Processing Craft has distinctive characteristics: first, the chenpi it produces serves both as medicine and as food. Xinhui chenpi has the effects of regulating qi, strengthening the spleen, drying dampness, and transforming phlegm; it has been highly regarded by Chinese physicians throughout history and written into ancient medical texts and ancient prescriptions. Xinhui chenpi is also a famous seasoning and condiment in Cantonese cuisine, removing gaminess and enhancing freshness. Second, its aging environment is unique: Xinhui's distinctive seasonal alternation of humidity and dryness, cold and heat, is the key to guaranteeing the quality of Xinhui chenpi. Third, the processing craft is exacting: the fruit is picked separately in three periods of its growth, and picking follows the rule of 'two snips per fruit'; peeling must divide the peel evenly into three regular segments, keeping the fruit stem attached; turning the peel back requires about six hours of shade drying and must be done quickly once the peel has softened; sun-drying requires moderate light; and storage and aging require strict control of temperature and humidity, with chenpi of different years differing in storage implements and in the timing and number of turnings and sun-dryings. The people of Xinhui have always used chenpi for health preservation, as gifts for relatives and friends, and as part of dowries and ceremonial gifts; Xinhui chenpi has become an important bond connecting Xinhui natives living away from home with their homeland, and a cultural witness to that connection. Overseas Chinese have also carried Xinhui chenpi abroad as souvenirs (shouxin), with far-reaching influence.
Two cuts to one fruit
One cut parts the stalk and the next divides the fruit, so the stem is never torn and the rind resists rot in drying.
Opening the peel in three even petals
The peel must open into three even petals still joined at the stem; uneven or broken ones count only as seconds.
Shade-drying before inverting the peel
About six hours of shade-drying make the peel pliable enough to invert at once; delay leaves it stiff and lets its oils evaporate.
Sun-drying and turning the peel
Sunlight must be measured and the peel turned so both faces dry alike; from then on the local alternation of damp and dry, cold and heat decides how deep the ageing goes.
Grading by peel and storing by year
Peel of different vintages is stored in different vessels and turned at different times and as often; storage decides grade and price.
Three years, three stages
Three years of raising, three of fruiting and three harvests give three grades; after picking come three more years of drying, sorting and ageing, so time itself is an ingredient.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The process of the Xinhui Chenpi Processing Craft includes picking, peeling, turning the peel back, turning the peel, sun-drying, and aging, forming a processing craft with unique local characteristics summarized as 'three years of seedling raising, three years of fruit bearing, three batches of harvesting, three varieties, three-segment peeling, three years of sun-drying, three grades of peel sorting, three years of aging, and long-term storage.' It has been passed down to the present day through word of mouth and hands-on demonstration among chenpi-trading families and the populace. Xinhui chenpi culture has a long history and enjoys such accolades as 'a hundred years of chenpi, a thousand years of ginseng' and 'the soul of Cantonese cuisine.' Locally there are also folk songs about chenpi and mnemonic rhymes for its processing.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Xinhui Chenpi Processing Craft is the craft of carefully producing 'Xinhui chenpi' from Xinhui mandarin oranges through procedures such as peeling, sun-drying, and aging; it has been passed down from generation to generation among the people for several hundred years. Produced through rigorous and meticulous processing, Xinhui chenpi has high medicinal value and broad applications as both medicine and food; books such as the Shennong Bencao Jing, the Bencao Gangmu, and the Zhongyi Shouce (Handbook of Chinese Medicine) have all recorded its medicinal functions. The Xinhui Chenpi Processing Craft has always been transmitted collectively; in modern times it has evolved into family transmission and transmission through industry and business operations. Today, more than 1,000 business entities across Xinhui District carry on the practice of this craft, along with 5,000 Xinhui mandarin growers, and more than 50,000 people are employed in the related industrial chain. The Xinhui Chenpi Processing Craft has continually developed through transmission, integrating fine Chinese culture, and it has marked social value and economic benefit.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Xiaotao 01-0206
- Jin Shiyuan 01-0207
- Sun Shuwu 03-1440
- Li Chengjie 03-1441
- Wang Junliang 05-2925
- Li Mingyan 05-2927
- Yuan Xiaoping 05-2928
- Hu Changjiang 05-2929
- Chen Baizhong
- Kang Mingxuan
- Xiao Yongqing
- Zhang Yisheng
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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